This page provides documentation and explanation of the goals and requirements of each tier of publication. Each publication on the site would belong to a single tier
Stars
Overview
- This is the highest tier with the strictest publication requirements.
- This tier contains approximately the top 5-10% of site's content.
- Aims to fulfill the site's goal of exposing as many people as possible to Tool-assisted Speedrun/Superplay movies as an art form.
Entertainment Requirements
- Audience engagement is the largest factor (large number of voters, viewers, comments).
- Also requires approval of one or more admin dedicated to maintaining the Star list (starman role).
Technical Requirements
- The TAS itself must be perceived as of highest quality.
- Shining example of entertaining the audience, being impressive, showing a mastery of TAS techniques, using unexpected/seemingly impossible ideas, expertise of the game.
Game and Goal choice
- Game choice is a very large factor. The game must be one that engages the audience easily, and does not depend on prior knowledge of Tool-assisted literature; easily grabs attention. (A natural consequence is that game popularity will play a role here, since familiarity of the game increases audience engagement).
- Game choice must be one that allows for a variety of TAS techniques, strategies, and ideas. In other words, it must be difficult to make an optimized TAS.
- Goal choice must be one that easily understood and clear to the audience.
- Goal choices must not be too esoteric. It must cater to the average user rather than the TAS experts of the given game.
Moons
Overview
- Aims to fulfill the site's goal of being entertainment based and provide impressive and high quality TAS movies to the audience.
Entertainment Requirements
- The dominant criteria here is entertainment value to the users. This will be assessed via votes, comments, and views.
- These movies must be impressive, attempt to entertain the audience even when it does not save time.
- Speed/entertainment trade-offs are acceptable.
Technical Requirements
- Must be perceived to be well optimized, and show competence in TAS techniques.
Game and Goal choice
- Game choice is a strong factor. The game must be one that facilitates entertainment value when tool-assistance is applied.
- Goal choice is the least restrictive in this category than any other. Esoteric, and unorthodox choices are possible.
Vault
Overview
- This category represents the fastest completion times for a minimum set of goals.
- Its purpose is to fulfill the site's goal of being
Entertainment Requirements
- Entertainment value has little to no significance
- Opportunities to entertain the audience where it does not affect time is not a requirement. However, it is encouraged and can be used as a tie-breaker for two equally fast movies.
- It is possible for a faster movie to be published in this category while a slower but "more entertaining" movie is published in another tier.
- Aims to fulfill the site's goal of being a Tool-assisted Speedrun records site, as well as be an information based central repository for the body of TAS literature.
Technical Requirements
- Must beat all known unassisted records and beat or match all known tool-assisted records.
- Must show a proficient understanding of TAS techniques and be perceived as well optimized. I.e. should not have obvious pauses, mistakes, or sloppy play.
- In rare cases, there will be a sloppier movie that is faster than a more optimized movie due to the use of a major skip discovery. In this case, the faster of the two movies is preferred.
Game and Goal choice
- Must be clearly definable as a game.
- Must be clearly definable as having completed the game.
- Games that loop endlessly can still be defined. The completion point is one where there is no new content, and the game is no longer increasing in difficulty.
- Hacks are not eligible for this category, but unlicensed games are.
- For the purposes of this tier, board games and similar types that are a human vs CPU match in which the player beats the CPU as fast as possible is not defined as a game completion.
- Goal choice is limited to fastest completion time (any%), or full-completion (100%).
- Other goal choices are not eligible for this category.
- Goal choice criteria must be clear and non-controversial (A clear consensus and what constitutes full-completion, or when a game is completed).